Walking Through Acts

Today we reach the final sermon of our Series Walking Through Acts. We began

this journey all the way back in 2024, the Sunday after Easter. Most of you know

that I’ve only been in this preaching role for two years now, and, as we know,

every local church has an identity. Each local church is different in its various ways.

Just as we are all unique members of this local church body, our local church is but

one member of the greater church body. And as we continue to strive for

authenticity, those things that make us who we are, that make us Union Christian

Church, it is extremely important for us to always look to the Bible as our standard

of identity so that we don’t stray away from what the Church was intended to look

like.

That’s been the purpose of this series from day one. Union Christian Church is a

Restoration Movement Church and has been since its inception in 1855. Some of

you may be wondering, “well what is a Restoration Movement Church?” At its

most fundamental level, a Restoration Movement Church strives to get back to

the ideals and the nature and structure of the local church as given to us in

Scripture..(not creeds, not tradition, not a bureaucratic governing body located

elsewhere), but the Bible. One of our core values here at UCC is, “The Bible is our

Authority.”

If the Bible is our authority, then it is wise for us to do Church, God’s way. And

there is no other place to go, except for His Word when it comes to our

ecclesiology. And what better place to find out how to do all this than the book of

Acts, the very account where we see the birth of the Church as we know it today.

Here’s a quote form Gareth Reece that I used in my first sermon in this series.

“The primary purpose, we believe, was to give the world a record of the

establishment of the church, and also information on how to become a Christian.

How greatly in need of material on these two subjects we’d be if we did not have

Acts. We wouldn’t know of Pentecost. We wouldn’t know where the writer of overone-half of the New Testament came from. Where could one turn to find

information on how to appropriate the results of Christ’s atoning death, like the

passages found in Acts?”

Let me set the stage for today’s message. Prior to Jesus’ ascension into heaven, he

says this to those who were present.

Acts 1:8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you

will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of

the earth.”

As we’ve gone through Acts, we’ve seen the gospel spreading throughout the

ancient world starting in Jerusalem and then expanding out through Samaria and

then throughout Macedonia, Achaia and Asia through Paul’s missionary journeys.

And as we found out in Acts 23, Paul is commissioned to be a witness in Rome.

Could this, in Paul’s mind, have been the fulfilling of the command to take the

gospel to the ends of the earth?

This brings us to the start of today’s passage of Scripture. Paul is on his way to

Rome. A prisoner, one who has appealed to Caesar in order to vindicate his

himself as innocent in light of the Jews’ accusations against him. Today begins his

journey from the island of Malta, which we covered last week, towards his

destination.

Acts 28:11

11 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship

of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead.

Remember that the reason for remaining on the island was to wait out the

dangerous sailing season on the Mediterranean. And the ship they take is another

massive ship, this ship of Alexandria. And there’s something interesting

mentioned here that our author Luke points out. There is a general rule that I

employ as a way to filter what I read in the Bible. “If it’s weird, it’s important.”Why the mention of the twin gods at the front of this Alexandrian ship? In Greek

mythology, Zeus had twin sons named Castor and Pollux. After their death, Zeus

had them transported to the heavens as the fable goes and became the

constellation we call Gemini. Poseidon (Neptune) gave the twins power over the

winds and waves. And so now we can understand why these “twin gods” would be

the figurehead of this great ship from Alexandria.

Reece,

“Luke’s little eyewitness detail here reminds us of the continual trial Jews and

Christians must have faced, as they saw signs of idolatry all around them, even in

the common actions of everyday life.”

My question to all of us is, do we see any of this today? The answer to that is a

resounding yes. We are not so far removed from our brothers and sisters living in

the first century. There is a throughline that connects the past to the present that

remains a constant in our reality. It is Christians living in a world marked by the

influence of idols that has permeated the fabric of our society. And lot of times, it

is subliminal. I believe that’s the design. If we can imagine for ourselves, the

strategy of our enemy (Satan), “Make these serious things into seemingly boring

or not so serious things so that no one is quite aware of their presence in the

world, thereby ensuring their survival.”

Some of these companies you may have heard of.

Nike, the sports company named after the Greek goddess of victory.

Versace, the luxury fashion brand that uses the head of Medusa as its logo.

Starbucks, whose logo depicts a two tailed siren from Greek mythology.

Amazon, referring to the tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology

Pandora, named after a woman in Greek mythology known for her little box that

she carried around with her.I want to be clear. I am not naming these companies so that we begin to fear them

or boycott them. I am merely pointing out the fact that, our present reality is tied

intrinsically to a past that experienced many of the same things we do today. i.e.

Idolatry. And we, as Christians must know how to navigate a world preoccupied

with idol worship. To live in the world but not of it.

Paul was a passenger on a ship dawning the patron twin gods, Castor and Pollux.

I’m sure Luke and Paul were both aware of this. Yet, we don’t see them jumping

overboard in hopes of finding another means of travel. This very well could’ve

been their only means of arriving to Rome in the allotted time. But if I could put

myself in the minds of Paul and Luke, I believe their disposition toward sailing on

such a ship was hardly neutral. It is this tension of “living in, but not of.”

Next, we will see the itinerary of Paul’s voyage to Rome.

Acts 28:12-16

12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we

made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up,

and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and were

invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And the

brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius

and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took

courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself,

with the soldier who guarded him.

What’s interesting here is that, upon arrival to Rome, we discover there are

Christians already there. Yes, the gospel was spreading fast and it is true that Paul

was not the first Christian to arrive in Rome. However, Paul was still being

obedient to his command to witness there himself. In verse 16, we see that Paul,

still a prisoner, was allowed to stay by himself as long as he was accompanied by a

guard. This wasn’t the typical treatment of a prisoner arriving to Rome. Here’s the

thing. Paul wasn’t a typical prisoner. A verdict had not yet been reached in his

case. Unlike his fellow prisoners that he arrived with, he was not condemned to a

life of slavery, or to fight in the arenas as a gladiator. No, he is granted the liberty

to stay in a home while he awaited his appointment to stand before the emperor.Acts 28:17-20

17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when

they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against

our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from

Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, they

wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in

my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—

though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I

have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel

that I am wearing this chain.”

What was the purpose of calling together these Jewish leaders? Perhaps Paul was

apprehensive to how he would be received by the Jews in Rome. Perhaps he

wanted to make his case before them to win them over to Christ before he stands

on trial so as to mitigate the number of opponents he might have that day. And as

we’ve seen before, he begins his appeal by referring to them as brethren. We’re

not so different. In fact, we’re very similar. We’re cut from the same cloth. We’re

the same in many ways, except for one thing. Our status in Christ. Here’s how they

respond.

Acts 28:21-22

21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and

none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22

But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect

we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

Now, the fact that the Jewish leaders in Rome hadn’t heard any bad report about

Paul is quite interesting. There were these official letters sent out to all the

synagogues from the Sanhedrin if there were any charges against certain

individuals. It was a blacklist of sorts, that warned the synagogues to not let these

men teach for whatever reason. “Watch out for these men” would’ve been the

sentiment. But Paul was on no such list. However, there have been rumors about

Christianity painting it in a negative light. And so they’re curious. They say, “we

desire to hear from you.”Now this is a quality that is not prevalent in our society today. When there are

points of disagreement, we tend to want to shut down any chance of having a

conversation about them. It seems more and more difficult to have these

meaningful conversations where two or more parties come together and say,

“hey, I know we don’t agree on this, but let’s talk about it.” I believe our society

today could greatly benefit from this approach if we decided to embrace it. It is in

no way compromising our beliefs. It’s not even a battle of which side is going to

win. If attaining the truth is the goal, then both sides will benefit. It is a very

Christ-like thing to do. We enter into these conversations with truth and grace.

Richard PW Tan,

“Grace and truth are distinct and yet they are not mutually exclusive. But when

people focus on one without the other, they usually fall into two extremes. They

either embrace a gospel of “grace without truth” or a gospel of “truth without

grace”.

Grace without truth is not really grace. Truth without grace is not really truth.

Grace without truth pampers. Truth without grace hammers.

Grace without truth is love without correction. Truth without grace is correction

without love. Grace without truth is mercy without justice. Truth without grace is

justice without mercy.

Grace without truth is soft and spoils people. Truth without grace is harsh and

crushes people. Grace without truth is freedom without responsibility. Truth

without grace is responsibility without freedom.

Either extremes are neither of Christ or the gospel.”

And in this case in our passage, it is the Jewish leaders extending the opportunity

for Paul to be heard.

Acts 28:23

23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in

greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to

the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law

of Moses and from the Prophets.So there was a date set for the Jewish leaders to all gather to hear what Paul had

to say. And, throughout the course of that day, Scripture tells us that he

expounded to them. Other translations have the word, “explained.” The

implication here being that Paul is giving a detailed and comprehensive

presentation of the gospel message, leaving nothing out so as to give every

possible chance to win as many as he can to faith in Jesus. And with Paul’s mastery

of using historical accounts of Israel’s past as well as employing his knowledge of

the Old Testament Scriptures to further support and credential the gospel

message with indisputable facts with clarity and conviction, you would think that

everyone in that room would’ve been convinced. But that’s not the case.

Acts 28:24

24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.

This is the great tragedy of not only the time we are reading about, but of our day.

The Jewish leaders in Rome had Paul. Today, we have Paul’s words and an

unlimited amount of sources to pull from to credential and support the truth of

the gospel, and yet, some are convinced, but others disbelieve.

To a lot of Christians, it can be disheartening to share Jesus with people and feel

like your words have fallen on deaf ears. It is disheartening to be able to provide

all the evidence of God’s existence and his plan of redemption through His Son

Jesus only to have it be rejected.

When I was a freshman in college, I had my friend sit in front of my laptop so that

he could watch and listen to a full sermon. A good 40 minutes of me watching him

watch the sermon and I couldn’t even hear anything because I had him put on

headphones. And I knew the content of this sermon, and I thought deep down

that there was no way my friend was going to leave my dorm room without

believing that Jesus is Lord and Savior. To this day, he still hasn’t given his life to

Jesus. And this all happened before I knew I wanted to go into vocational ministry.

But as I look back now, I think God has wired me in such a way to use whatever

means possible and whatever tools I have at my disposal to share the gospel. Back

then it was a laptop and headphones. Today, it’s a microphone.And I know this whole story that I just shared seems silly. Like what kind of

evangelism strategy is that? I agree, it probably wasn’t the most effective way to

win people to Christ. However, the fact still stands, that no matter the amount of

evidence presented to someone about the truth of Jesus, whether in the past, the

present and or the future, the most common response will be rejection or

disbelief.

The question one may ask, is, “Mark, so why do you get up and preach every

Sunday, and why do you devote your life to making Jesus known?” My answer is

this. “For the people who are convinced of the truth and surrender their lives to

Jesus, its worth it.” There’s no amount of rejection that will ever keep me for

preaching the good news of Jesus because, at the end of the day, I’m merely being

obedient to God’s calling on my life. I simply obey, and leave the details to God.

And I thank God that it is not in the masterful delivery or in the logic and reason

presented in a sermon that will ultimately win someone to Christ. It is by the

working of the Holy Spirit working upon men’s hearts that leads them to

repentance. Praise God that I don’t have to carry around that pressure to have a

positive conversion rate. You don’t have to carry that pressure.

We are all bearers of the gospel message and the Great Commission was to all of

us. We were all called to share the gospel with those around us. Some of you may

say, “well I don’t have the gift of evangelism.” (My response) “Well I don’t have

the gift of cleaning toilets or changing diapers.” Do you get my point? We simply

obey, and leave the details to God. Because for those people that you share the

gospel with, and they end up coming to faith, the work will be worth it.

That’s where Paul’s at. This guy, throughout his ministry (from the things we’ve

read), this guy probably isn’t even batting .200 with his conversion rate. But that’s

not the point. He was commissioned to testify about the truth of Christ, and he

runs headlong into his calling. And for him, after seeing the Jewish leaders that

were convinced of the gospel, even in spite of the rejection, his work was worth it.

For those Jewish leaders who disbelieved, he rebukes them.Acts 28:25-28

25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one

statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the

prophet:

26 “‘Go to this people, and say,

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

27 For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the

Gentiles; they will listen.”

It is just as true today as it ever was that, it’s not that people don’t know about

Jesus. It’s that they see him, and close their eyes. They hear him, but block their

ears.

And now we come to our last passage in the book of Acts.

Piano to play here.

Acts 28:30-31

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who

came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord

Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Paul, although a prisoner for these two years, was able to continue preaching and

teaching in Rome, just as Jesus said he would. Although this is the end of the book

of Acts, this was not the end of Paul’s ministry. Paul was able to continue hisministry for several more years until his 2nd imprisonment in Rome, which ended

in his execution.

If there was an example to emulate, and a way for us to get back to the kind

Christianity written about in the book of Acts, one way of doing this is holding to

what could be referred to as Paul’s life motto.

Acts 20:24

24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may

finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to

the gospel of the grace of God.

Over the last several months of our Walk Through Acts, we have learned about

the nature and the structure of the Church. We’ve learned about the importance

of missions. And so now, we must do something with that. We must go and live

our lives boldly and courageously for Christ.